The road to WWE Fastlane 2023 continues tonight.
WWE Monday Night Raw returns at 8/7c this evening on the USA Network, LIVE from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
On tap for tonight’s three-hour WWE on USA program is Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ricochet, as well as Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar of The Viking Raiders.
Featured below are complete WWE Monday Night Raw results from Monday, September 18, 2023 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live on the USA Network from 8-11pm EST.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS (9/18/2023)
The usual John Cena-narrated “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” signature airs to get this week’s show officially off-and-running.
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
We then shoot live inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT. where the first thing we hear is the theme song for “The American Nightmare.”
With that said, Cody Rhodes emerges in his ring gear to kick off this week’s show. Michael Cole and company welcome us to the program on commentary. As he settles in the ring, Cole runs down the lineup for tonight’s show.
Rhodes’ theme dies down and then he grabs a mic. He pans the crowd and soaks in the atmosphere as thousands of fans chant “Cody! Cody! Cody!” He asks us what we want to talk about. He mentions being interrupted last week and then says he wants to talk about “Main Event” Jey Uso.
Once again that’s the only line he gets out before we hear the familiar sounds of The Judgment Day theme song. NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio heads out for non-title action. He tries talking about “Main Event” Jey Uso being recruited for The Judgment Day, but the fans crap all over him as he tries to speak.
“Dirty” Dom then informs us that “Mami” Rhea Ripley is not here tonight after getting injured at the hands of Nia Jax on last week’s show. He dedicates his match tonight to “Mami.” Cody asks if we could hear him over all the booing. He tells him to try again, and of course, the fans loudly boo again.
Cody says he gets an Urkel / Laura Winslow vibe, claiming Dom is far more into Ripley than she is to him. Cody tells Dom that “Mami” has eyes for “Main Event” Jey Uso. Dom tries to respond but the fans sh*t all over it, per usual.
Dom then brings out the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions from The Judgment Day, Finn Balor and Damian Priest, to be at ringside for this opening contest. As they make their way down and settle in at the ringside area, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Dragon Lee from NXT sitting in the front row. Michael Cole informs us that he will challenge Dom for the NXT North American title on next week’s Raw. The bell sounds and Cody and Dom get this one off-and-running. Cody immediately plants Dom into the mat and locks him in a figure four leg lock. Dom grabs the ropes to break the hold.
The first time we see Cody thrown to the floor, we see Balor sneak attack him from behind. Back in the ring, Dom takes over on offense as the fans boo the crap out of him. Seconds later, Cody takes over and hits a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for a very quick and easy win.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Kevin Owens & Cody Rhodes Have Some Stuff To Talk About
After the match, we see The Judgment Day look to beat down Cody until the theme for Kevin Owens hits and out comes “The Prize Fighter” and Sami Zayn to run them off.
Cody goes to leave the ring, but Kevin tells him he should go ahead and come back inside the squared circle, because they’ve got some stuff they need to talk about. With that said, we head to a commercial break.
When we return, Owens wants to make sure he’s right in assuming that Jey Uso is back on Raw because of him. Cody says he is correct. Owens says he doesn’t need to go into details about what Jey did to some of the people in the locker room as part of The Bloodline. Owens wants to know why he brought him back.
Rhodes says his job is to make people happy. He asks if the fans like Jey. Cody then mentions how he’s someone who has benefitted from second chances. He says Jey deserves a chance to prove he has changed. Cody also says how is it bad that The Bloodline is guaranteed to be down by at least one member going forward with Jey on Raw.
Sami Zayn chimes in and says he doesn’t want to pile on, but he says he worked hand-in-hand with Jey and commends him for digging himself out of a very bad situation. He says he deserves a second chance. Owens says he sees where this is going.
He says if they want him to pretend that Jey wasn’t a big part of Zayn not walking out of Elimination Chamber with the title, or Cody leaving WrestleMania with it. He says Jey is a shade away from joining The Judgment Day. He hopes they’re right. He drops the mic and walks off by himself.
Medical Update On Rhea Ripley & Raquel Rodriguez
We see footage of the Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez title match from last week’s show, which saw Nia Jax attack Rodriguez, costing her the bout, and then beating down Ripley afterwards as well.
Ripley suffered bruised ribs and Rodriguez suffered whiplash from the Samoan drop from Jax, according to a medical update from Cole after the vignette wraps up.
Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar
Back in the arena, we hear the familiar sounds of the entrance theme song of The New Day. With that said, out comes former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston for our next match of the evening. As he settles in the ring, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the advertising time out, we see Ivar of The Viking Raiders make his way out accompanied by Valhalla. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. After the initial back-and-forth action, we see Ivar hit a big splash on Kingston on the floor that elicits gasps from the crowd and commentators alike.
On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see Ivar enjoying a comfortable offensive lead. Kofi fights back and hits a top-rope splash in the ring. Ivar fights back and grounds him. Kingston begins showing signs of life a few minutes later and surprises Ivar with an S.O.S.
He goes for Trouble in Paradise and Ivar ducks. Ivar hits a double underhook sit-out power bomb for a close pin attempt. Ivar lands a huge kick that nearly knocks Kofi’s teeth out. He goes for the cover but once again Kofi finds a way to hang in there and keep this one alive. Ivar hits a top-rope moonsault for another shockingly close near fall.
Kingston fights back with a sunset flip power bomb off the top-rope that pops the crowd. He drags himself back to his feet and connects with his Trouble in Paradise kick for the win. Good match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ricochet
We see footage of Shinsuke Nakamura’s attack on Ricochet from last week’s show. We then shoot backstage to Megan Fox, I mean Jackie Redmond, who welcomes her guest at this time — Ricochet.
Ricochet says he was already past Nakamura. He says the only reason he’s dealing with him again is because he attacked him last week. He says that made it personal. He thinks Nakamura looks at him as a game in his journey to the title with Seth Rollins. Ricochet claims to have the cheat code.
Back inside the arena, we hear the rock violins and the crowd boos as “The King of Strong Style” himself, Shinsuke Nakamura, makes his way out and heads to the ring for our next match of the evening.
Before Nakamura can fully settle in the ring, while laying down doing his entrance routine, his music cuts off and we hear “BURN IT DOWN!” Seth “Freakin'” Rollins runs down to the ring and Nakamura runs away and hides behind a wall of security guards. We head to a commercial break on that note.
When we return from the break, Ricochet’s theme hits and out he comes. He settles in the ring and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. We see Nakamura take advantage of Ricochet with a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. This allows him to settle into the early offensive lead.
Nakamura dominates the action for the next few minutes until finally Ricochet catches him with a stunning top-rope moonsault on the floor. After that, we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
As we settle in from the advertising time out, we see Nakamura is back in control of things. Ricochet fights back and connects with a standing shooting star press to shift the momentum back in his favor. Ricochet springboards off the ropes for a high cross body into a lateral press. Nakamura barely kicks out.
“The King of Strong Style” shifts the momentum back in his favor with a step-up enzugiri on the floor. Nakamura grabs a steel chair and Ricochet leaps and kicks it into Nakamura’s face. He then picks it up and whacks Nakamura with it. Nakamura ends up getting the win via disqualification.
Winner via DQ: Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura Beats Down Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
After the match, Nakamura beats Ricochet down in the ring. He grabs his leg and wraps it around the steel ring post. He grabs a steel chair and whacks the crap out of his leg as it is against the ring post. Seth Rollins runs down to make the save.
He beats Nakamura down and goes to pedigree him on a steel chair, but Nakamura back body drops him and Rollins lands injured back-first on the steel chair. Security comes to keep them separated. Rollins breaks free and drags Nakamura out to the floor.
Nakamura slams Rollins back-first into the commentary table and then back suplexes him on top of the commentary table. The security again pulls Nakamura away. They check on Rollins as he’s laid out on the floor with his injured back. We head to another commercial break on that note.
Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
When we return from the break, we see Seth “Freakin'” Rollins unable to walk backstage. He is helped into the trainers room to be checked on.
Now we shoot to Byron Saxton backstage, who is joined by the Undisputed WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. Green calls Byron by the name Bryan and then talks about being best friends with Niven.
Niven questions them being friends and asks Green to tell her what country she is from. Chelsea guesses Florida. Byron tells her it’s Scotland. She claims she knew that. We head to the ring for our next match of the evening.
The theme for Shayna Baszler hits and out she comes to the ring by herself. She settles inside and then the theme for Zoey Stark hits and out she comes to join Baszler as her tag-team partner for this next bout.
Undisputed WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven make their way out next. They settle inside and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. We see some back-and-forth action and then Stark and Baszler take turns beating down Green.
We see the action spill out to the floor and then out of nowhere Nia Jax appears and rams Piper Niven into the steel ring post. In the ring, she drops Zoey Stark with a Samoan drop and then a senton. She then manhandles Chelsea Green and Baszler as well.
Winner: No Contest
Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed
We shoot backstage and we see Adam Pearce on the phone dealing with issues related to Seth “Freakin'” Rollins’ injury. Chad Gable approaches him and asks him what he’s got to do to get one more shot at WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER.
Up walks Bronson Reed who tells Gable to get to the back of the line. Gable yells at him, “SHOOSH!” He then reminds him he made a name for himself suplexing big guys. They jaw back and forth and Pearce tells them it’s enough. They can go to the ring and have a match — next.
Now we return in the arena where Michael Cole informs us that The Rock’s surprise appearance drew 103 trillion-billion-gazillion combined views across all of their social media platforms.
Chad Gable’s theme hits and he makes his way out for the next match of the evening as we head to a quick pre-match commercial break.
As we return from the break, we see Damian Priest interrupt Jackie Redmond’s backstage interview with “Main Event” Jey Uso. He tells Jey that The Judgment Day wants an Uso. He says they’re leaning towards Jimmy, but he feels Jey is the right choice. He continues to try and convince him to join. Priest wants an answer by the end of the night.
Back in the arena, Gable’s theme wraps up and the familiar sounds of Bronson Reed’s entrance tune plays. The big man makes his way down to the ring to a chorus of boos from the Salt Lake City crowd. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
We see Reed manhandle the smaller Gable early on. Gable looks for a suplex early on, but Reed stops him. Reed continues to dominate the action as we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the match continues.
Tommaso Ciampa Sends Message To Imperium
We shoot to a backstage segment featuring Tommaso Ciampa. He delivers a message to Imperium. He vows to send a message to Giovanni Vinci tonight. He says he chose a war with Imperium voluntarily because GUNTHER has something he wants — the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
NXT Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch (C) vs. Natalya
Now we see footage of Becky Lynch defeating Tiffany Stratton to become the new NXT Women’s Champion last Tuesday night. When we return live, we see “The Man” walking backstage and being stopped by Akira Tozawa for a quick handshake. We head to another commercial break.
When we return, we see Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talking about Jey Uso when “Main Event” Jey himself walks up and tells Kevin not to talk behind his back. Kevin says he isn’t and tells him to his face he thinks he’s already with The Judgment Day, and if he isn’t, he will be soon. He storms off.
Sami Zayn tells Jey he’s got to understand it’s gonna take some time for some people to come around after The Bloodline past issues. He says it looks like he’s got a big decision to make tonight regarding The Judgment Day. He wishes him luck. Jey thanks him.
Back in the arena, we hear the familiar sounds of Becky Lynch’s theme song. “The Man” settles in the ring and talks about winning the NXT Women’s title. She says she didn’t win it to just add it to her collection. She wants to raise the value of the title because it represents the future of this business. She wants to test herself against the very best the future has to offer.
She says this is why she will be at NXT tomorrow night, but tonight she is in Utah, and she is issuing an open challenge to anyone who wants to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship. Natalya comes out. Lynch says she meant she wanted to challenge someone new who hasn’t had an opportunity yet. Nattie calls Lynch a hypocritical ginger witch and pushes her. Lynch accepts.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Nattie immediately rams Lynch shoulder first into the steel ring post. As Lynch crashes and burns on the floor at ringside, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action in this title tilt continues.
As we settle back in from the commercial break, we see Nattie still in control of the offense. She hits a big top-rope spot for a super close near fall. Lynch fights back and looks for the Man-Handle Slam but Nattie avoids it. She looks for Dis-Arm Her but Nattie escapes. The two go for multiple pin attempts and reversals and Lynch ends up sealing the deal with a three-count to retain.
Winner and STILL NXT Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch
Dominik Mysterio Confronts Dragon Lee
Dominik Mysterio busts into Adam Pearce’s locker room while he’s talking to Dragon Lee. He complains about losing to Cody Rhodes because Rhea Ripley wasn’t here tonight. He talks about Dragon Lee and says he doesn’t like people in masks, because they remind him of his dead-beat dad. He vows to beat him next week.
Giovanni Vinci vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Back inside the arena, the Imperium theme hits and out comes Giovanni Vinci accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser. The two head to the ring as Vinci is in action in our next match of the evening. As he settles inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Tommaso Ciampa make his way out and head to the ring. He settles inside and his music dies down. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
We see WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER with his title over his shoulder watching the action unfold in the ring. Ciampa starts off strong but Kaiser interferes and Vinci takes over.
Ciampa eventually fights back into the lead and gets the submission win with his Sicilian Stretch. GUNTHER is shown reacting to Vinci’s loss backstage. We head to another commercial break after the match.
Winner: Tommaso Ciampa
Drew McIntyre vs. “Main Event” Jey Uso
It’s main event time!
This week, Jey Uso’s nickname actually lives up to the billing, as “Main Event” Jey Uso is in the headline spot after working the opener last Monday night on Raw. Uso goes one-on-one against Drew McIntyre next.
But first, we shoot backstage and we see Byron Saxton interviewing Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. He asks how he’s feeling. Rollins says he’s tired and in a lot of pain, and he’s trying to keep it together but he’s losing his mind.
Rollins says he’ll do whatever it takes to get Shinsuke Nakamura in the ring. He says maybe he’s got to let go of the wheel. He tells Shinsuke that the ball is in his court. He says whenever he wants and under whatever stipulation. He can decide. Regardless, their legacies are intertwined.
Now we shoot back inside the arena where Michael Cole and Wade Barrett react to the comments from Rollins. They hype our main event between “Main Event” Jey Uso and “The Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre. A video package on “Main Event” Jey Uso airs now.
The video package wraps up and then we hear the familiar sounds of the theme song for “Main Event” Jey Uso. With that said, he makes his way to the ring to a big pop from the Salt Lake City crowd. As he settles in the ring, we shift gears and head to a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, Cole runs down some new matches for next week’s Raw, including Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn challenging Damian Priest & Finn Balor for the tag titles, Otis vs. Bronson Reed, Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee for the North American title, as well as Nakamura’s response to Rollins.
From there, we hear the familiar sounds of Drew McIntyre’s theme as we return inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT. for our final bout of this week’s show. “The Scottish Warrior” settles inside the ring in his new white ring gear. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
McIntyre immediately out-powers Jey. He yells at him that if that’s all he’s got, this is going to be a short night for him. Jey finally starts to show signs of life, but Drew continues to cut him off at every turn. Jey eventually knocks Drew over the top and out to the floor.
He hits a big diving splash on “The Scottish Warrior” at ringside. Jey heads back into the ring, builds up a full head of steam and connects with another diving splash onto Drew on the floor.
After that, we see Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest emerge from the back as Cole reminds us of him demanding an answer from Jey regarding The Judgment Day tonight. The fans boo seeing Priest as we head into a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the final commercial break of the evening, we see the action still in progress in the ring. McIntyre takes Uso to the top-rope and connects with a huge super-plex for a big pop. Jey and Drew duke it out but McIntyre connects with a Glasgow Kiss to slow Jey down.
Uso hits a super kick and a Samoan drop to shift the offensive momentum back in his favor. He goes for the cover, but Drew kicks out at two. We see Priest hop on the apron and talk in Jey’s ear. Jey ends up super kicking Priest off the apron. He does the same to Balor and Dom but then turns around right into a Claymore Kick from Drew, who picks up the win.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre Won’t Help Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes Will
Once the match wraps up, we see Drew McIntyre exit the ring. He begins heading to the back as we see The Judgment Day recover and re-enter the ring. They stand over a laid out Jey Uso and begin putting the boots to him.
They pick him up and hold him by his arms and drill him with wide open shots. Drew turns at the top of the stage and watches on. He turns and keeps walking to the back as fans boo. He stops again and turns and looks.
As he grits his teeth and looks like he’s about to go help, Cody Rhodes’ theme hits and “The American Nightmare” runs down to the ring past Drew to beat down all of The Judgment Day guys. He cleans house of Dom, Balor and Priest and stands tall as Jey recovers behind him.
The Judgment Day retreats to the back as Jey Uso gets back up and shakes hands with Cody. That’s how this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
